Internal-combustion engine



H. FORD INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Aug. .11, 194;:

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 6, 1948. u H. FORD 2,434,038

INTERNAL- COMBUS TION ENGINE Filed Aug. 11, 194; 2 Sheets-Sheet a Q Henry Ford INVENTOR.

syf w Patented Jan. 6, 1948 INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE Henry Ford, Dearborn, Mich assignor to Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Mich a corporation of Delaware Application August 11, 1943, Serial No. 498,143

2' Claims. ('01. 123-55) This invention relates to internal-combustion engines; and, more particularly, to engines having a p urality of cylinder banks Multibank engines are, of course, old; and.

' while the greatest number in actual use are of the V-type in which the banks are arranged at an acute angle to each other, numerous engines of the direct-opposed or pancake type in which the two banks are arranged at 180 have also been built. The latter have included the opposed piston type (best exemplified by the "Junkers Jumo or Napier Culverin) in which there is no cylin-' der head, as such, but in which two spaced crankshafts are provided; and the central crankshaft type in which two spaced cylinder heads are used. The present invention concerns a compromise type between the conventional V and the usual opposed bank' constructions. As such, it embodies certain advantages inherent in each type which heretofore have been exclusive thereto. In accomplishing this, the construction employed varies markedly from that generally found in engines of either class. Il'ustrative of this departure from prior usage is the provision of banks employing five cylinders each in connection with an obtuse V-an le. While a two-bank engine is shown. those skilled in the art will recognize that the principles employed are'equally applicable to a four-bank X-engine.

The V and pancake engines in general use have certain disadvantages,. particularly in aircraft use. The reduction of frontal area is always a prime consideration; and while the opposed-type engine is adapted to wing enclosure and hence reduces the effective frontal area accordingly, it must have at least twelve cylinders to obtain a balanced firing order and to avoid successive explosions in the same bank. The V-engines must be mounted in the fuselage to reduce the eifective frontal area. and while a balanced firing order and substantial equalization of dynamic and torsional forces are obtainable in eight-, twelveand sixteen-cylinder engines by the application of proper counterweights. the increase in the weight/power ratio which results is a distinct disadvantage.

The engine shown here achieves substantial balance without excessive counterweighing by approximating the self-balancing condition of the larger opposed engines and yet provides a firing order in which successive explosions alternate from bank to bank. At the same time the frontal area is substantially the same as that of an opposed engine so that it is particularly adaptable ther it reduces the number of cylinders below that generally thought necessary in an opposed engine.

The engine illustrated has two banks of five cylinders each arranged at an angle of substantially 144. Of course, five-cylinder engines of a certain type are oldreference maybe made particularly to marine-Diesel and semi-Diesel engines which are made in single-bank form employing three, four, five, six or even seven cylinders. It will be recognized that these are very low-speed engines and that the higher harmonics are not particu arly troublesome. Nevertheless, the primary and secondary couples are difficult to balance whether the cranks are arranged at- 120 or 72. and in a high-speed engine the resultant vibration would be intolerable. Some of the disadvantage can be avoided by conversion to the opposed type, but this, in turn, leads to difilculties both in the balancing of the firing order and in manifolding. If arranged in a conventional V, the counterweighing required becomes prohibitive.

The advantages of the present engine are that it retains the fiat frontal area of an opposed engine and yet retain-s substantial dynamic balance with a minimum of counterweighing while possessing a balanced firing order and uniform torque characteristics. All these are obtained in a substantia ly flat multibank engine having the minimum number of cylinders consistent with effective limitation of torque reaction variation. Yet, because of the unorthodox arrangement, a highspeed, high-compression engine is obtained that embodies many of the advantages of both the V and fiat-opposed types.

for wing mounting in multiengine aircraft. Fur- With these and other obiects in view, the invention consists in the arrangement. construction and combination of the various parts of the improved device, as described in the specification, claimed in the claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an end elevation of an engine constructed according to this invention.

Figure 2 is a partial plan view of .the engine taken substantially as indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a transverse section through the engine crankcaseshowing the web construction.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic end view of the engine illustrating the bank and crankshaftthrow arrangement.

Figure 51s a diagrammatic plan view of the engine showing the crankshaft and cylinder arrangement.

Figure 6 is a diagram of the engine firing order.

Referring first to Figures 4 and 5, the engine 3 l comprises two banks ll arranged at an angle of 144 each and containing five cylinders l2. The cylinders are in staggered relation so that the big ends I3 of the connecting rods 14 of the pistons [5 can be arranged side by side on the throws iii of the crankshaft II. Preferably,

crankshaft bearings 18 are provided between eachv of the throws it. The actual arrangement of successive throws of the crankshaft I! can best be seen from Figure 4, and when Figure 6 is referred to in conjunction with it, the preferred firing order will be made clear. Itlwill be understood that the cylinders. (and corresponding throws) are numbered from 1 to 5, successively, and the banks indicated as Right and Left. Following this notation, the firing order may be described as:

from which it will be seen that there is no concurrent firing of cylinders and that no more than two adjacent cylinders in either bank fire in suc- .3ESSlOI1.

The physical embodiment of the engine is further shown in Figures 1 to 3 in which i9 is the central crankcase, the oil sump and 2i the coolant pump connected through pipes 22 to water jackets 23 in the heads 24 and block 25. The head 24 includes overhead valves 26 which may be used in this type of engine since over-all width does not particularly increase the effective frontal area. These are driven by the camshaft 2'! operated through bevel gearing 28 and the shaft 29 from the crankshaft l1. tially indicated at 30) is preferably arranged at the end of the camshaft 21 and drivingly connected to it. The usual combustion chamber 3| and spark plug 32-are provided at each cylinder as well as inlet and exhaust passages 39. The manifolding 33 is preferably arranged on the bottom surface of the block to reduce the effective thickness of the engine. I

As stated before, bearings 18 are preferably provided between each throw 1 l6, and these are supported in webs 34 (see Figure 3). .The engine block 25 may, for ease in construction, be divided on the centerline of the crankshaft, as

- shown at 35, and bolted together by bolts 36 running through each web 34 between adjacent cylinders. The usual oil ducts 31 are formed in the webs, and the crankcase enclosure is completed by a cover plate 38 and, optionally, by the sump 20. This latter may be omitted when the absolute minimum in effective frontal area is required and othermeans. such as independent oil supply tanks, used inits stead. Because of the minimum angularity of the banks, the difficulties usually encountered in a split b ock in a V-engine are avoided, as the load applied to the bolts 36 is substantially longitudinal and the tendency to transverse displacement is slight.

The engine thus disclosed embodies the advantageous characteristics of both the fiat and V-types. It makes possible the use of a fivecylinder basic power unit in a high-speed, highcompression engine. It possesses, to a marked degree, the balanced characteristics of an opposed engine in which opposite reciprocating parts are substantially in balance and 1161106 A distributor (parreduces the counter-weight requirement. Nevertheless, alternate firing is obtained throughout and the torque impulses are regulated to obtain desirable output characteristics. These all stem primarily from the cylinder and block arrangement shown and, secondarily, from the crankshaft and firing order devised.

Some changes may be made in the arrangement, construction and combination of the various parts of the improved device without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is the intention to cover'by the claims such changes as may be reasonably included within the scope thereof.

The invention claimed is:

1. In' a four-cycle intemal-combustion engine,

two banks of cylinders each having five cylinders arrangedin line, said banks being positioned at an angle of 144 to each other, pistons in said cylinders, a common crankshaft interposed between said banks, said crankshaft having five throws arranged at angles of 72, connecting rods leading from said pistons to said crankshaft throws with the connecting rods from the pistons in opposite cylinders engaging respective throws of the crankshaft, said throws being successively angularly disposed from one end of the crankshaft to the other in such order that the pair of adjacent cylinders at each end of each bank fire successively in that bank and that intermediate the successive firing of each said pair of cylinders, a cylinder fires in the otherbank near the opposite end of the crankshaft.

2. In a four-cycle internal-combustion engine, two banks of cylinders each having five cylinders arranged in line, said banks being positioned at an angle of 144 to each other, pistons in said cylinders, a common crankshaft interposed between said banks, said crankshaft'having five throws arranged at'angles of 72, connecting rods leading from said pistons" to said crankshaft throws with the connecting'rods from the pistons in opposite cylinders engaging respective'throws of the crankshaft, said throws'being successively angularly disposed from one end of the crankshaft tothe other in such order that the pair of adjacent cylinders at each end-of each bank fire successively in that bank, and that intermediate the successive firing of each said pair of cylinders, a cylinder fires in the other bank near the opposite end of the crankshaft, the firing order of said cylinders in which the cylinders in opposite banks'are indicated by common ordinals from 1 to 5'and the banks indicated as Right (R) and Left (Ii), respective, being 1-R, 4-L, 2--R, 5-L, 4- R, 3-L, 5R, 1L, 3-R, and 2-L. V

HENRY FORD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

